My wife won't watch horror movies, or even movies she caught a preview of that appear to be creepy in any way.  I don't mind flicks like that and really enjoy seeing films in the theaters.

Get our free mobile app

I have plenty of people other than the wife I can go to a movie with but coordinating schedules can be tough.  Our 11-year-old daughter would go see every horror film with me, but I of course need to make good parent choices with what we let her see.

When we caught a trailer for the movie M3GAN a couple of months back, it was put on me to take the kiddo because mom said "nope".  It's along the lines of something I would watch but usually carrying an "R" rating.  I bought us tickets for the night before it technically opened in theaters, which is as silly as it sounds.  They had three showings for a "see it before it's out" type deal which included no additional fanfare or celebration of the film, you could simply see it early.

I went into it expecting nothing great, mostly because movie trailers nowadays giveaway too much of the movie and Hollywood writing can be lazy, so films are usually predictable.  If you didn't know much at this point, the film is about a doll that comes to life and starts causing trouble for just about everyone around it.  It's also not a demonic possession type horror movie, going along more of the artificial intelligence lines of thinking.

With a runtime of around 1 hour 42 minutes, me and the kiddo settled in with all the snacks in a theater with about 25 other people.  For most of the film, I was moderately entertained.  There certainly isn't anything about it to keep you glued to the screen, but it isn't necessarily boring either.  It's just kind of there, and if you're a parent concerned about language your child hears, there is no shortage of that in the film, so something else to consider if bringing the little ones.

M3GAN has a little bit of blood, but most of the implied gory violence takes place off-screen.  There are also a few parts that still might make you jump a bit, but nothing too crazy.  It's a pretty tame film and to throw it in the horror genre might be a stretch, hell even labeling it as a comedy isn't quite accurate, though it has some chuckle moments.  I will also add that the effects were pretty good throughout, and they didn't seem to skimp on making the film at least look good.

I'll give M3GAN a solid 6 out of 10 rating, as it wasn't boring and the kiddo seemed to like it, even though she admitted it was predictable.  I'd also file it under the "never need to see again" section.  For sure a one and done for adults, but kids might be repeat customers.